Core blowing apparatus



June 24, 1958 m c s 2,839,798

' CORE BLOWING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 17, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .T. lINVENTOR.

//4M9 & Ian's Kicks BY \gzz fwm June 1958 H. G. HINRICHS CORE BLOWINGAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1'7. 1954 U i ed S ates PatentCORE BLOWING APPARATUS Hans G. Hinrichs, Hillsdale, N. Y., assignor, bymesne assignments, to Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Minneapolis,Minn.,;a corporation of Delaware Application February-17, 1954, SerialNo. 410,798 2Claims. (Cl. 22-10) ,This invention relates generally toimprovements in the production of sand cores and more particularlyrelates to an improved arrangement for changing the apparatus toefliciently accommodate various types of core boxes in accordance withdifferent job requirements.

, .Molds or cores are usually produced by a "type of apparatus in whichthe core material such as sand is fed into a sand chamber above a tableupon which a core box is'place-d and an air stream is then charged intothe chamher under suitable pressure to blow or force the sand throughopenings in the base of the chamber into entry passages in the core box.which lead to the core forming cavities. Since the core cavities and theentry passages vary in number and configuration in accordance with thetype of core to be formed,v a fixed number and location of apertures inthe sand chamber base cannot efliciently accommodate different types ofcore boxes.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide anarrangement for changing the number and location of the sand chamberblow openings to accommodate'various types of core boxes in accordancewith different job requirements. Another object of this inventionrelates to the provision of an arrangement which will permit selectivemasking of the sand chamber blow openings to accommodate different typesof core boxes.

Briefly, this invention is directed to an improved arrangement for acore blowing sand chamber having a blow plate witha fixed number of blowopenings physically disposed in fixed relation to each other and adaptedto. surmount a core box vent plate which in turn is intended to surmountand communicate with a core box. The vent plate also has a fixed numberof openings disposed in fixedrelation to each other, some of which arein communication with the openings in the blow plate, and others ofwhich are in communication with the atmosphere for venting purposes. Inaccordance with my invention, provision is made for separating the ventplate from the sand chamber blow plate to permit the introduction of amasking plate also having a fixed number of openings physically-disposedin fixed relation to each other, the number and physical dispositionbeing different from that in the chamber blow plate, whereby the maskingplate will isolate certain blow plate openings from the vent plateopenings and from communication with a particular core box. 'Provisionis also made for clamping the masking plate in position within the ventand blow plate assembly. Preferably, the number and physical dispositionof the openings in the masking plate bear a predetermined relation to aselected core box configuration.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the core blowing apparatus showing thesand chamber and associated parts in section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the lower portion of the sandchamber illustrating the configuration of the blow and vent plates whenassembled with masking plate;

Patented June 24, 1958 Figs. 3 and 4 are plan views of variousconfigurations of the masking plate.

The sand blowing apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 em-v bodies an enclosedvertical frame having a base 10, and a vertically spaced cross head 11interconnected with spaced vertical columns 12 and 13 to form a rigidload distributing supporting structure. Within the top portion of theenclosed frame is a sand transfer chamber 14 which is pivotallysupported on each side by arms such as shown at 15 and 16, eachextending from pivotal connections at the column 12 to enable limitedvertical movement of the transfer chamber within the'frame. In normaluse, the transfer chamber would be filled with sand from a-hopper 17which may be supported on the column 12 external to the enclosedframe'in which case the supporting arms such as 15 and 16 could becoupled to a journal 7 18 rotatably mounted on the column 12 to swingthe 21 in the base of the enclosed frame for positioning a sandreceptacle such as a core box 22 into core blowing engagement with thebase of the transfer chamber 14. Thus, when fluid pressure is suppliedbeneath the lift piston '20 the core box 22 is positioned upwardlyagainst a is rotatably mounted at the top of they partition 36.

te base of the transfer chamber and the entire assembly positionedagainst a cover 25. 'In the preferred form shown, the cover 25 iscarried by an arm 26 extending from the column 12 and is adjustable in avertical direc-' tion by means of the spindle and hand wheel designatedgenerally at 30. Fluid pressure is supplied to the sand chamber 14through a port 31 in the cover which is coupled to a supply line 32leading from a control valve 35 mounted on the cross head 11. Airpressure is supplied to the control valve 35 and to the lift pistoncylinder 21 from a source of pressure in a conventional manner, notforming part of this invention and, therefore, not shown.

In the preferred arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the sand transfer chamber14 has an inner perforated partition 35 forming a sand room surroundedby an air jacket all of which is closed at the bottom by a removableblow plate closure 40. An agitator 37 is rotatably supported within thesand room from a driving ring gear 38 which The ring gear 38 is in turndriven by a spur gear 39 which is disposed outside the sand room andwithin the air jacket of the chamber for protection against sand anddirt. The gear arrangement may be coupled to a motor or similar drivemeans to rotate the agitator 37.

The blow plate is provided with a plurality of discharge openings 41which communicate with aligned openings 43 in a venting plate 45surmounting the core box. Thus, in operation, the sand transfer chamber14 is filled with sand by swinging it under the externally supportedhopper 17 and then it is swung back into core blowing position withinthe closed frame after which the lift piston 20 positions the core box22 into operative engagement below the vent plate 4'5 and in turn raisesthe entire assembly against the cover 25 so that air pressure may beadmitted through the port 31 to blow the sand through the dischargeopenings 41 and 43 into the core box, where it passes through entrypassages into the core cavity. In the preferred form illustrated, thevent plate 45 has additional venting openings 44 which vent the core boxto atmosphere during the blowing operation. Suitable bushings 49 areprovided to establish communication between the discharge openings 41and 43 when the plates are assembled as shown.

It is readily apparent that when different types of configurations ofcores are to be made, the cavities and the entry passageways are changedaccordingly, and the disposition of the'discharge openings 41 in theblow plate may not be as advantageously located for one type of core boxas for another, resulting in inefficient transfer of sand andimperfectly made cores. Accordingly, as best shown in the enlargedsectional elevation of Fig. 2, the vent plate 45 is preferably hingedthrough a supporting arm 46 and pivot pin 47 to a bracket 48 extendingfrom one side of the sand chamber 14 so that it may be dropped away andseparated from the blow plate 40 to provide access to the space belowthe blow plate. Such access permits the insertion of a masking plate 50having substantially the same configuration as the chamber blow plate 40but having a different disposition of discharge openings 51. Twodifferent configurations are shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the vent plate 45 is alsosupported on the sand chamber 14 by an arrangement which permitsseparation of the blow and vent plates sufficiently to receive a maskingplate 50 which at the same time maintaining the desired alignmentbetween the blow and vent plates. This arrangement includes an eccentricshaft rotatably disposed in a sleeve 61 which may be an integral part ofthe sand chamber Wall. The eccentric extremity of the shaft 60terminates in a handle 62 disposed at right angles to the plane of theshaft and capable of rotating the. shaft within the sleeve 61. A leverrod 63 is loosely carried at one end by the eccentric portion of theshaft 60 and has its other end coupled to a bracket 65 extendingupwardly from the vent plate. Thus, when the handle 62 is in thevertical position shown, the eccentric portion of the shaft 60 acts toraise the lever rod 63 and clamp the vent plate against an interposedmasking plate 50. The masking plate 50 may be removed and replaced withanother by simply turning the handle 62 down to lower the lever rod 63and separate the vent plate as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.Thus, when the job requirements change and a different core box ispositioned on the lift piston 20, the handle 62 will be operated tolower the vent plate 45 sufficiently to permit insertion of a maskingplate having a configuration corresponding to the particular core box tobe blown. The masking plates 50 are preferably made of metal such asZinc or the like, and are more economical in use and cost than changingthe blow plate of the sand chamber for each different core box.

Thus, there has been provided an arrangement for changing a core blowingapparatus to efficiently accommodate various types of core boxes inaccordance with different job requirements. The arrangement permitsseparation of the vent plate from the blow plate sufliciently to permitthe insertion of a masking plate which will coact with the sanddischarge openings in the blow plate in a selected manner having apredetermined relationship to the particular core box being blown toprovide efficient transfer of sand and optimum core production.

I claim:

1. In combination with a sandtransfer chamber having an open base closedby a blow plate with a plurality of spaced sand discharge openingsadapted to surmount a core boxcavity, a vent plate having a greaternumber of spaced openings, means for separably supporting: the ventplate below the blow plate with the openings of the blow plate alignedwith some of the openings in the vent plate, said means including apivotal connection between opposite edges'of theivent plate and oppositesides of the sand chamber respectively, one of said pivotal connectionsincluding an eccentric pivot shaft adapted to be rotated to permitlimited separation of the vent plate from the corresponding edge of theblow plate; and externally accessible means for rotating said eccentricpivot shaft.

2. In combination, with a sand transfer chamber having a base closedby ablow plate provided with a plurality of spaced sand discharge openingsand adapted to surmount a core box cavity, a vent plate having aplurality of similarly spaced openings, and means for separablysupporting the vent plate below the blow plate with the openings in eachplate aligned, and means coacting between the chamber and'the vent plateto selectively separate the vent plate away from the blow plate alimited distance, said last mentioned means including an eccentric shaftmounted for rotation on the transfer chamber" References Cited inthefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 415,328 Payen Nov. 19, 18891,998,316 Guyot Apr. 16, 1935 2,598,621 Taccone May 27, 1952 2,636,230Morton Apr. 28,1953 2,656,575 Herbruggen Oct. 27,1953 2,789,325

McKee Apr. 23, 1957"

